The final sprint!

Master's Women 2x with Regina Montag heading into the final leg of the Gorge Head Race, 2001.

It was always an exciting part of the race when we would shift into the last 500m. All that work that had been done in the first 1300 to 1600m of the race was past us and that final reach to the line was approaching. Stroke by stroke, winding it up and moving together, (ideally in unison!) with guts wrenching and blood pumping through bodies that were soaked with lactic acid. Perhaps not as physically intense as rowing a 2km race, my last week here at Oklahoma State has reminded me of those races and how it felt to leave it all out there having rowed the best I could row on that day, in that boat, on that water, in those conditions with that crew.

Vikes Women's Rowing Team 2004.

National Champions Danny Buchanan and Keith Siklenka on the podium at the Canadian Secondary School Rowing Association Championships putting Belmont High School on the map.

UVic Men's Novice Alumni at Monster Erg 2005.

Vikes Varsity and Junior Varsity Men with the Vikes Women racing in Oregon.

Lorena Campbell and I after the Sr. Women's 2x at the BC Championships Regatta on Elk Lake in 2004. One of the best partners and friends I have ever had the honour to know.

UVic Junior Varsity Heavy Men's 8+ in Oregon.

We won races. We lost races. We trained hard and we raced even harder and smarter. Here at Oklahoma State University, I have been pushed harder than I have ever been pushed before. I now understand that it is not enough to work hard. Critical thinking and analysis along with scientific breadth and depth are vital to success as a scientist. I am coming back to Canada with more questions than I had when I left and with the realization that I now know how little I really do know. My greatest reflections here that I will continue in the north country are around carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, conservation and biodiversity, "proper" range and grazing management, invasive and alien species management, the aesthetics around disturbance, the desire and need to keep fire in ecosystems, and how we can incorporate our scientific knowledge with political and social decisions.

My role model, friend and mum giving me some last words before I push off. Howie Campbell told me once that you never forget where you came from. You are so right Howie.

Bitter sweet - 2 weeks to go!

Who would have thought that 4 months in America could have been such an interesting ride? As I march my way through the last few assignments and readings I am gearing up for my final exams. It has been intense to say the least! I am definitely ready to go home, but I know I will leave with a slight heavy heart. These are really good people down here in Oklahoma. They are polite, kind and generous. The graduate students who surround me are very bright, interesting and highly intelligent human beings. The lively (often very lively especially in our office) discussions that we have range anywhere from theoretical to practical science, the definition of raw v. cooked food, religion and evolution, whether or not mushrooms are truly edible to lowtek collars and carbon sequestration capabilities of the invasive and encroaching (but native - just for my forestry class) eastern redcedar which is actually a juniper. I have never been so challenged academically or intellectually as I have by these good people - including professors.

This past week, Dr. Wes Jackson from the Land Institute was the sponsored speaker by the NREM Grad Student's Organization. This is Steve introducing Dr. Jackson.

I still wonder why we use the word recover after a disturbance and I imagine that I will keep realizing that things I have said in the past are not truly right but that is adaptive thought isn't it?! I thought I would come down here and work my fingers to the bone and my brain to mush, getting scientific breadth and depth. I can say that the journey for those quests has started, but even more significantly, I have found a community of people - professors and fellow students alike - who have proved to me that there are good people everywhere. To say that I will miss these good folks (even the foresters and "snakey" guys) is an understatement. These people have made this experience truly amazing and I am already looking forward to my next trip back down here.

I had the good fortune to partake in the 2010 Zoology Crawfish boil. It was interesting. I might rather eat mushrooms.

Saw my first possum although it was squished.

I had the amazing opportunity to experience one of the world's largest migrations of Sandhill cranes, snow geese and other birds. Thanks to Steve for this incredible experience!

Stephen Winter, Sam Fuhlendorf, me and Jamals John outside our blind on the Platte River, Nebraska.

On the same trip to Nebraska, Steve took us to an amazing dream come true of mine: native seed production at its finest! http://www.prairieplains.org/restoration_.htm

At Steve's tallgrass prairie that he has been restoring at his home in Nebraska.

It is good to be here - it has been an interesting 4+ months. I will be sad to leave, but it is time for me to go home. I look forward to being back inside of a comfort zone, back in my home with my community and to see my family. Back in my country - our country - true north strong and free where the beaver dams the river and the lightning brings beautiful fire! Always proud to be a Canadienne.

Klemme

Klemme Range Research Station in Western Oklahoma where my good friend and fellow grad student Emily Hiatt is doing her Master's research on patch burning.
http://www.oaes.okstate.edu/field-and-research-service-unit/marvin-klemme-range-research-station-1

Out on the range with Sam, Emily and Isis.

Incredible cacti!


Bouteloua sp. - Grama grass

Canadian wildrye - Elymus canadensis

Anemone

One of the larger lakes at Klemme - strong contrast of the red dirt and the redcedar.

Emily Hiatt, Graduate Research Assistant and MS student also working with Sam.

Transition zone between riparian and mixed grass prairie.

Emily and Sam discussing sampling methods and experimental design.

Nightshade!!!!!

Isis in the tallgrass

Windpower down here as well.

Sam, Emily and I out at Klemme.

Bravery and pride

"What about this? Is this a healthy riparian area? Is it functioning properly?"

"And tell me about this one - is this a functioning riparian area?"

And this is the look that Sam and Isis give me when I try to answer the question(s) about riparian areas. Basically, I didn't know to begin with and now I definitely have no clue what a functioning riparian area should look like!!!!

3 months in America and I still wake up wondering where I am. It remains a challenge to be surrounded by crowds of people with some folks walking so closely behind me. Maybe I've gotten bushed living up in the north country, but this civilization thing sure is different then getting out into the high hills with the freedom, vastness and openess that Robert Service also felt so passionately about. I also wonder a lot about what I'm doing here - pretty much on a daily basis! I'm looking at my latest purchase off of Amazon.com which is Biogeochemistry: an analysis of global change by William H. Schlesinger and I find myself thinking - wow - this is so cool and exciting and interesting, how come we don't talk about it more at work?!
Patch burn pastures

I am aware that what I am about to type will sound silly to most folks, but taking 4 grad classes is fairly time consuming. Sometimes it does feel like school gets in the way of research but then I remind myself that when I get home, I will have plenty of time to read and research, sitting on my lazy boy in my new house!
First spring flowers at the Cross Timbers Experimental Range

I'm currently plowing my way through our latest Forestry exam. I think that it's funny that Rod has made Stuart and I sit further apart in class because we are on each other constantly about range vs. forests. It's funny also to think about that discussion in an even larger sense - we all manage natural resources so we should all be aware of the system as a whole. I can see even better now how there has to be a balance between politics, society and science. Although, I would also argue that we need the science as a base - a logos to balance out and root our mythos in.
Were these one tree a hundred years ago or were there 3 trees there before? Who knows? Out at CTER last weekend.

The new languages that I am learning are starting to become more familiar. SAS coding in statistics is not like a second language yet, but it sure is slowly starting to make a bit more sense than my minimal knowledge of mandarin. We are being introduced to coordinate systems and the world of mapping in GIS. That language is not quite on the tip of my tongue either! Range management however, is starting to spill out of my mouth and I am able to understand where a lot of our range work in BC is founded and why the legislation reads the way it may for reasons of soil conservation and water health.
Carbon sequestration.

Do we seed crested wheatgrass in BC? Matthew Braun of the Range Branch has caught my attention at my potentially over-generalized statement on an earlier blog. I had seen crested wheatgrass on our range readiness criteria list as well as SMOOTH BROME! I have been learning that they are both highly invasive species and my comment was to reflect the concern that we may be planting non-native invasive species on our rangelands since we measure RRC for them. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/HRA/Publications/brochures/Rangeland_Health_Brochure11.pdf
The chewed up and spat out magnolia tree outside my windown with windchills down the -10C which I normally would have laughed at but somehow, that was a bit chilly!!

Seriously, this is 24 hours after it was +23C!!! Thought I was back up in Nellie.

So, after it was +23C on the friday before spring break, then there was a blizzard and total white out just about the following day where I apparently forgot how to walk on ice, then it hit +21C 24 hours later. That was last week. This week I almost melted on my way to hunt for lunch and then I saw that it was +28C and went up to +31C by the end of the afternoon. Then it hailed the other night or at least I thought it did, but when I woke up, there was nothing white around which was weird - I must have been dreaming. When I went outside I realized that it had hailed but that it was so hot that it all melted so fast. This is crazy Wx! Right now it's +18C and it's almost midnight. I guess my vacation in the deep hot south has just begun?!
Holechek comes with me everywhere, even in blizzards!

Finally found me some food without pepper in it! My first meal on my "camping trip" in Drummond Residence

I have convinced myself that I am just on a camping trip and that has helped me make it through some of the tougher days. I'm sleeping in my sleeping bag on top of all my sheets and I'm pretending that the small hot plate I just purchased at one of the two local WalMarts is my campfire. I make things like rice and kraft dinner on it and in the mornings, it even provides me with some hot water. I didn't think that some of the things about being here would be as challenging as they have been. One of the greatest things that I have re-discovered is that bravery comes at a high cost. I was also reminded by a couple good friends that it's OK to admit when things are not going great and it's OK to rely on those around me to help me through it. So I'd just like to give a shout out to Sam and Steve. And defintely also to my mum, Trevor and Karla. Red Greene was so right when he said we're all in this together eh?

Ray Moranz's PhD defense - "The Prairie Butterfly: how does a disturbance sensitive species survive in a disturbance-prone ecosystem?"

Dipesh - a fellow grad students - is from Nepal
Regina Henry and I at Cultural Night - thanks for a great night Regina!!!!

Although I have my head slammed in my books for most of the time, tonight I was invited by Regina Henry of the International Students and Scholars to the Cultural evening on campus. It was an absolutely phenomenal event with dancing, drumming and performances from all over the world. Not only did I leave with my jaw dragging on the ground from being in such awe over my fellow international students, I also came away with the reminder of how proud I am of being a Canadienne. Our country is so amazing and we are so fortunate and blessed to live in such a land. My name is Sonja and I AM CANADIAN eh?!
Guess what this is? SNAKE SKIN!!!!! Where there's snake skins there's snakes!!!!